This invention relates to a protection apparatus for a computer program and more particularly to an apparatus and method which will enable one to disable a program after a specified number of uses.
As is widely known, the advent of the home computer as well as the business computer has resulted in the generation of a multitude of programs for various purposes. Essentially, many of these programs are developed by independent software suppliers who will formulate various programs for use on many different types of machines. As such, these programs relate to all different businesses and are distributed by the software houses to potential customers.
As is well known, a major problem in regard to the distribution of such programs is the copying of such programs or the unauthorized use of such programs without compensating the originator for their value.
Based on marketing procedures, it is a common practice for a software supplier to loan a program to a potential customer to allow the customer to use the program over a trial period so that he can determine whether or not it is compatible with his needs. In this manner many such programs have been copied by the potential customer and returned to the originator without compensation. Other customers have used the program without paying for it over prolonged periods of time and the burden of retrieving the program falls on the originator. This creates great problems for software houses in regard to this type of marketing approach.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide apparatus as well as a method of preventing the above situations from occuring. The apparatus employed allows a software company or a program originator to furnish a program which can only be used for a predetermined number of times. This number is indicative of a trial period by which a user can test the program to determine whether it is compatible with his present needs. At the end of a predetermined number of uses, the program will be disabled by the apparatus and according to the method and thereby the user will be prevented from using the program unless a specified coded number is obtained from the software supplier or originator.
Once the number or code is obtained, the user can continue to use the program without restriction, and of course, this would be consistent with the user paying for the program.